Not Where I Left You
by iamthepirateking
Summary: Will finds something, or rather someone, he did not expect to find in the blacksmith shop. Simple W/E one-shot. Warning: yes, it's fluffy, and a tad melodramatic. Roll with it.


A/N: The scene begins almost identically to the scene in the movie from which the quote is pulled because I imagine that for Will talking to random things around him had become something of a routine. Silly boy. Anyway, Enjoy :)

'Not Where I Left You'

Will Turner entered the blacksmith shop, and casually took stock of the room. Mr. Brown lay slumped over in his chair in a drunken stupor, a bottle of liquor still dangling from one hand.

"Right where I left you," Will commented dryly.

He walked over to a wall lined with metalworking tools. Every instrument was neatly in its place.

"Right where I left you." He muttered again, and nodded approvingly at the sets of hammers and pokers.

Making his way past the racks of finished swords and the donkey still harnessed to its post, he opened the door to the small backroom and paused. Inside the room there was a small desk where Will would jot down dimensions for new swords, and sometimes keep sketches stored for future reference. At this desk sat Elizabeth, her eyes closed and head leaning on the tabletop, dozing lightly.

"Not where I left you." He said in quiet bewilderment. He had seen Elizabeth only this morning at the market. She had said hello to him, but he could only nod at her and smile dumbly in reply. Now for some reason she was here, in his work room, and apparently had been waiting for him for some time. He blinked a couple of times just to be sure, but the lovely apparition did not disappear.

Will stood in front of the sleeping girl, hesitating. Should he wake her? Maybe he should wait until she woke up on her own. But if she was here, than she must have wanted to see him for something, right?

"Ms. Swann?" He tried. No response. "Ms. Swann?" He tapped her gently on the shoulder, "Elizabeth?"

Her eyes opened and she looked up. She sat up quickly, smiling at him.

"Will! I've been looking for you."

"Have you?" He responded hesitantly, frozen in place by her smile.

"Yes, and after marching all up and down town I realized that you were going to have to come back here soon enough, so I decided to just wait for you."

"Ah, have you been waiting long? I'm sorry to have kept you-"

"That's alright," she said brightly, "Aren't you curious as to why I'm here?" Her eyes shone with merriment, and Will suspected that she was teasing him a little. She could have just told him why, but was going to make him ask.

"I am." Will admitted. She waited. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her. They were not twelve anymore. "Why are you here?" He asked, playing along.

"Because I wanted to see you," she answered simply. Will felt his heartbeat quicken. He tried to think of a response, but for a moment all he could do was stare at her. She met his gaze, and held it. He looked away first, a flush filling his cheeks, which was terribly embarrassing. The embarrassment only made him blush harder, and it seemed his mind went fuzzy and blank as he searched desperately for any words that he might string together into a coherent thought. He stared at the ground as if it might have some answers for him.

"I've missed you," Elizabeth continued, "We haven't had a good talk in such a long time. I feel as though you've been avoiding me."

Will looked up, and was startled to see Elizabeth looking a little uncertain, rather vulnerable. His stomach twisted as he realized it was his fault she was feeling this way.

"That was never my intention," he said earnestly, and paused. "I've missed you too." He placed a hand on her slim shoulder. She glanced at his hand there, and he quickly removed it, feeling flustered again. He began to talk quickly, explaining himself.

"You see, with Lieutenant Norrington courting you now, I thought it might not be deemed appropriate for us to continue to um, interact alone, and ah-"

Elizabeth sighed. "Oh Will, how many times have I told you? I don't care about propriety. I care about our friendship."

Will smiled wanly. She might not care about propriety, but he needed to be careful if he wanted to keep his job. His station had been set up for him by Governor Swann, and could no doubt be taken away just as easily. And Elizabeth, sheltered as she was, clearly did not fully understand the delicate importance of a woman's reputation. He would not willingly spoil hers, and ruin her prospects of a good marriage. But how could he tell her all that without offending her further? He couldn't, so he remained silent.

Elizabeth frowned at him. "Will," she said sternly, "I'll not have you avoiding me for silly reasons like rules and gossip. Besides, Lieutenant Norrington isn't really _courting _me. He's just visiting often and being friendly to try and get on Father's good side. He's up for a promotion soon, and Father does have quite a bit of influence in such decisions, as you well know."

Will continued to look uncomfortable. He wished he could believe her, though he was surprised that she would place Norrington as that kind of a character. But he had seen the way that man looked at her, and he knew all too well what that emotion was he saw in the Lieutentant's eyes. Will knew because he felt the same thing when he looked at her too, only he felt it twice strongly and with none of the same hope of requitement that came with the other man's station.

Elizabeth had been observing Will's face carefully. Seeing that she was still not getting through to him, she narrowed her eyes at him and suddenly her whole demeanor became much fiercer.

"I know what those gossips say about us, Will, I've heard the rumors same as you. And I don't _care_. I understand the consequences. I'm not as naïve as you think. I only wish that the rumors were actually _true_."

She stared at him intensely, her warm brown eyes gleaming with emotion. Will was somewhat taken aback by her sudden fiery change of mood. Then his mind registered what she had just said. _She wished that the rumors were true? Did that mean that she wished that he and she, that they-_

"Elizabeth-" he spoke her name like a question, tentative yet softly caressing.

His eyes met hers, searching for the answer to his unspoken question. They were leaning into each other now, face to face and ever so close together. He lifted a hand to lightly stroke her cheek. She did not shrink away, but leaned into his touch. Will found that he could barely breathe. Never in all his dreams had he thought this possible. He was half afraid that any sudden movement might break the spell at work in this precious moment, and he would lose it before it really began. Yet there she was, radiant with energy as she stared up at him with those lovely eyes, her chin tilted up and lips parted ever so slightly. Feeling suddenly bold, he brought his other arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Their lips mere inches apart, her eyes fluttered close in anticipation of what would come next.

Will was momentarily distracted by the perfect dark curls of lashes against her pale cheek, and then the smooth curve of her soft pink lips. Just as he began to lean in a littler closer, she surprised him once again and closed the distance between them herself. Her arms flew up to latch around his neck as she pressed her lips to his, and he eagerly responded. The kiss was short and sweet and pure. It was enough to leave them both reeling with the possibilities of pleasure and promises in that one small touch. They pulled away from each other giddy with the joy of their newfound discovery, smiling like fools.

"Will," Elizabeth said again, whispered this time. And his name had never sounded so pleasant to him as when she said it then, with that certain look in her eyes.

She leaned towards him once more, and he felt warmth rush through him. He wanted to take her into his arms and just hold her forever, never let go. But something held him back. He wanted her to be his and his alone, so that they could be together always. He wanted it so much that it was almost like a physical pain inside him. But above all else he wanted what was best for her. And when it came right down to the hard, cold truth, _he_ was not it. He could never properly provide for her, would never be accepted by her father or the society that she knew. What kind of a life would that be for her?

With a great effort, he drew himself away from her. She looked up at him, puzzled but still smiling faintly. Her smile faded as she studied his somber expression.

"Will, what's wrong?"

"Elizabeth, I-I can't."

Will's heart broke as he watched her eyes fill increasingly with worry and sadness.

"What do you mean, _can't_?"

"I can't do this to you, not when you could have so much more."

Elizabeth was quiet for a moment. Then the sadness in her eyes hardened into something more spirited and more desperate.

"_Will_," her voice was shrill, almost hysterical, "How can I make you understand? This is _my_ choice to make, and I choose you! Let me handle the consequences, and don't tell me that you can't 'do this to me'. Because what you're doing to me when you push me aside like this is far worse than anything _they_ could do to _us_! As long as there can be an _us_, I don't care what else there is!"

Will only looked at her with deep sadness. _She says that now, _he thought, _but later she will only resent me for all of the things I could never give her, all the things that she sacrificed to be with me. _He continued to stare at her in silence as she stood trembling before him. She was waiting for him to take back what he had said or to make some tender gesture that would counteract his words. He did neither. She bit her lip and straightened her shoulders, but could not stop the single tear that slid down her cheek. This was too much for Will. He reached out to wipe it away and fold her in his arms. But she brushed his hand away and turned her head.

Then without a second glance his way, she walked out of the little room. Moments later he heard the outer door creak and knew she had left the blacksmith shop as well. He stood rooted to his spot, one hand still extended towards where she had been. Slowly he let the hand drop to his side. He continued to stand motionless as he let this new loss sink into his heart. She was gone, really gone. It was probably for the best. But it did not feel that way. It felt cold and aching and awful. It numbed him as his mind wrapped itself again and again around that one word; _gone. Gone, gone, gone._

Elizabeth stood outside the blacksmith shop, feeling like a fool for waiting, but waiting nonetheless. Still waiting for him to rush outside and tell her that he hadn't meant it, that it was all a mistake. They had come so close. They had finally acknowledged their feelings for one another, and sealed it with one sweet kiss. But then he had to go and do a stupid think like trying to be noble, despite all her protests. And she waited, but he did not come. So reluctantly she turned and began to walk back to her home, back to the prim life that she knew and loathed. And all she could think as she walked was how all her tenderly harbored hopes for the future, all her dreams of romance, were now _gone, gone, gone, _and there was nothing more she could do.

A/N: This is my first submission, so any feedback at all, detailed or just a word or two would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!


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